1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fishing reel, and more particularly to a fishing reel comprising a reel body, a handle shaft rotatably mounted on the reel body, a main gear relatively rotatably supported by the handle shaft, a drag braking mechanism mounted between the main gear and the handle shaft, an adjusting member mounted on the handle shaft for adjusting a braking force of the drag braking mechanism, and a one-way mechanism mounted around the handle shaft inside of the reel body for permitting only forward rotation of the handle shaft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A known example of fishing reels of the above-noted type is shown in Japanese utility model publication No. 57-39027 in which a spacer is disposed between the adjusting member and the drag braking mechanism thereby to adjust the braking force of the drag braking mechanism of the spacer with rotation of the adjusting member to provide a spool with a predetermined braking force. The handle shaft includes an inward axial end integrally forming a backward rotation locking gear defining ratchet teeth in an outer periphery thereof, while the reel body supports a ratchet pawl inside thereof for meshing with the ratchet teeth thereby permitting only a one-way rotation of the handle shaft and prohibiting backward rotation thereof to provide the main gear with the braking force of the drag braking mechanism. When winding up the fish caught by the hook and a drawing force of a fishing line wound on the spool is smaller than the braking force of the drag braking mechanism predetermined by the adjusting member, the braking force does not allow the main gear to be rotated to prevent the backward rotation of the spool. In contrast, when the drawing force of the fishing line is larger than the braking force of the drag braking mechanism, the main gear is rotated relative to the handle shaft while sliding the drag braking mechanism thereby to backwardly rotate the spool.
However, according to the conventional fishing reel as the above, the ratchet teeth of the backward rotation locking gear mounted on the handle shaft comprise flat and long teeth in order to guarantee a strength thereof. Therefore, a large space is required between the teeth for a reliable engagement with the ratchet pawl. As a result, an extreme end of the ratchet pawl and a bottom of the ratchet teeth define large play therebetween. Then, the ratchet pawl and the ratchet teeth collide against each other when the spool is rotated in the backward direction, which causes a shock and provides the fisherman with an uncomfortable feeling. The conventional fishing reel is also disadvantageous in that the handle shaft includes not only the backward rotation locking gear but also the spacer between the drag braking mechanism and the adjusting member to increase a transverse dimension of the reel body, and consequently to enlarge its entirety.